Football who is the head coach of the zenith. Viewpoint: Who will be the new coach of Zenit? Mancini failure: Poor transfer and difficulties in understanding

About appointment Sergei Semak head coach of "Zenith" became known a few days ago. A meeting of the new blue-white-blue mentor with the fans at the club's base in Udelny Park was planned in advance. On the day the contract was signed, however, it was transferred to the Petrovsky Stadium. Because of this, journalists had to rush around the city for half a day, frantically trying to catch Sergei Bogdanovich. It was not possible to get into a closed meeting with fans, but it turned out to talk with Semak after it. After talking with the fans, he spent a few minutes with reporters.

- Sergey Bogdanovich, congratulations on your appointment. How was the meeting with the fans?
- Initially, the meeting with the fans was planned at the base in Udelny Park, then it was moved to the Petrovsky stadium. The guys asked, drove up for five minutes, no problem.

- How did the fans take it?
- If they came to the meeting, then they normally accepted my appointment. Nice to have their attention. But I understand perfectly well that I am at the very beginning of the journey. There is a lot of work ahead.

- What was the conversation about?
- There are no secrets about what they talked about. General phrases that fans would like to see did not concern a deep tactical understanding of football.

– Easily agreed to the proposal of “Zenith”?
– It is not easy, any decision is difficult. Of course, for me this is a step forward in my work. The risk is always present, it is never small, as far as the work of the head coach is concerned. There are many additional complications. If you take on something, you should try to do it to the maximum.

- Do you have any idea who will join your coaching staff?
- It's too early to talk about it. A lot of information in the press was not true. The appointment went very quickly, with an element of surprise. In the near future we will decide about the coaching staff, fees and everything else.

“Semak now everyone hugs and kisses. He returned home"

The President of "Zenith" Sergei Fursenko - on the appointment of Sergei Semak head coach.

- Is Alexander Nizelik on the list of candidates under consideration?
“Of course he does.

- And Alexander Kerzhakov?
- Not. I didn’t talk to Sasha about this and didn’t hear anything about it from the leaders.

- For the first time you came to St. Petersburg for negotiations about two weeks ago. What happened during this time?
- You know perfectly well that the position of the Zenit management was announced that I am one of the candidates for the post of head coach of the club. Then there was a meeting, but it did not carry any specifics. Last night everything went in a different direction.

Many players will return to Zenit from loan, including Artyom Dziuba and Oleg Shatov. Do you have any idea about their future?
- Very soon you will know everything. I have all the information about the players: who and where is located. Zenit had a lot of players on loan. Very soon you will find out which of them will go to the training camp, who will not.

When are you planning to have your first training session?
- As it was planned: on June 15 - a medical examination, and on the 17th - a flight to the first training camp.

- There is talk that Denisov will return to Zenit. It's true?
- I can't say anything about possible transfers. It takes time to work, everything should be weighed properly. - a top football player, any coach likes his game.

What goals were set by management in terms of result - Champions League and first place or formation new team?
- Tasks will be announced before the season. Of course, our team must fight for the championship and constantly play in the Champions League.

Was there a conversation about the sports department? Will Vyacheslav Malafeev and Oreste Cinquini stay? Will there be a new sports director?
- There was talk about everything, but you need time to analyze everything before making decisions.

- We understand that you won’t say anything about the players now, but there is one player who…
- Messi? Semak asked with a smile.

No, Danny said he was ready to return to Zenit and devote a few more years to him. Are you considering him?
- We consider all quality players who can strengthen Zenit.

Petersburg football club began to look for a replacement for Mancini after Zenit lost their chances of getting into the Champions League. The team ranks fifth in the standings, which makes it possible to participate only in the Europa League. This season, the blue-white-blues left the Russian Cup at the 1/16 final stage, losing to Dynamo St. Petersburg with a score of 2:3. In the Europa League, they managed to reach the 1/8 finals, losing on aggregate to the German Leipzig with a score of 1:2 and 1:1, respectively. By the end of the Russian Championship, Zenit is fifth in the standings with 53 points. Earlier it was reported that the leadership of FC Zenit is considering five candidates for the position of head coach. Officially, the list has not yet been announced, however, the media will already know the details about the alleged applicants. So, according to domestic and foreign publications, Italian Carlo Ancelotti or his compatriot Maurizio Sarri can take patronage over the team. Also among the contenders is Montenegrin specialist Miodrag Bozovic, who currently heads the Tula Arsenal, Russian Sergey Semak, head coach Ufa, as well as the Dutchman Dick Advocaat, who had already coached the team from 2006 to 2009 and won the UEFA Cup with it.

Mancini failure: Poor transfer and difficulties in understanding

Zenit Roberto Mancini took charge in 2017. According to the press, after signing the contract, he was among the 15 highest paid coaches in the world. Before Petersburg club, Mancini led Inter, Galatasaray, Manchester City, Fiorentina and Lazio. The fact that Mancini will leave his post immediately after the end of the Russian Championship, on May 13, was known a month ago. This was reported by an authoritative sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. On April 8, the coach flew to Rome to discuss signing with the Italian national team. Presumably, we are talking about a two-year contract with a salary of more than two million euros and a bonus in case of entering the European Championship 2020.

Alexander Kanishchev, the ex-player of Zenit, said in an interview with Channel Five that he considers Mancini a good coach. The reason for bad play lies in the difficulty of understanding. The players did not feel the ideas of the coach and did not give their best on the field.

Video: Channel Five

“The first mistake is a transfer. If he recruited a team and, with his instructions, with his consent, football players were bought, then it is obvious that these people did not produce results. In any case, for the first year of being in the team. He also failed to bring his football idea of ​​how the team should play. It is clear that he is unhappy with the game. And the team also did not give out what the coach wanted from them. No contact. It happens. good coach. It just doesn't get results. I could not convey my idea to the players. But again, it's up to the players. But if they fail, they fire the coach. I don't blame Mancini at all for the result. The fault of the players. Guilt is a strong word, but the fact that they did not show their full potential on the field is absolutely certain. Didn't give themselves 100%. There was no return, coherence, not united were the goal to become champions. Everything caught my eye. Just incompatibility", — summed up the ex-Zenit.

Much more negatively Mancini's work was assessed by Boris Rappoport, who served as head coach and sports director"Zenith" from 2002 to 2004. The point, the footballer believes, is in the mentality. Allegedly, the Italian professional looked down on the players of the team, and even did not fulfill the terms of the contract. After each game, he left for his native Italy. In other words, I absolutely did not understand the mentality of the Russians.

Video: Channel Five

“Mancini underestimated the level of the Russian Championship. He wasn't ready. He was put to sleep during the first months, when everything went well. When problems arose, he was not ready, in my opinion. There was no serious assessment of the opponent, no analysis of who would have to play. It seems to me that in Russian Premier League it is necessary, as in any other, to prepare for each opponent. Then, the second mistake - he turned out to be a very difficult person in relationships with people. I say that he did not understand our mentality, that people need to be treated differently. It seems to me that the “footballer Mancini”, a top-class footballer, still firmly sat in him. And he looked down on his wards: what are you compared to me when I played. And this prevented building normal relations with the guys. Those mistakes that were made in determining the composition, inviting people. I don’t understand at all how you can part with Dzyuba, with Shatov. Giuliano left before that, who won well under Lucescu. And instead of them, invite players who, obviously for any fan, are lower in class. I think these reasons led to a disastrous result. And instead of digging into the work, he took a different path. I don’t understand how a coach with a two-year contract could fly away after every game. There is talk that he is negotiating with the Italian Federation, although he does not have the right to do so. This should no doubt be a closed topic. But when a football player hears that their coach hangs around in Italy after every game and negotiates there, this does not unite the team in any way, does not aim at the result. I am surprised that the leaders of the club did not put an end to this from the very beginning. He is at work, he has a long contract, he must fulfill his conditions. The club took the position of an outside observer. In my opinion, this was the reason that the team has become almost unmanageable for the last month and a half", - Rappoport said in an interview with Channel Five.

Dear Italian Coach Carlo Ancelotti

Free coach Carlo Ancelotti is likely to be too expensive for Zenit, believes Alexander Kanishchev. It is known that the Italian in early May refused the Italian Football Federation to take over the leadership of the national team. However, the Federation intends to find a coach by May 20. And this decision will indirectly affect who will lead the Russian blue-white-blue club.

According to media reports, the 58-year-old Italian is preparing to take over as Juventus coach. So the possibility that he will take the post of Zenit coach is not great. Ancelotti had already worked for Juventus from 1999 to 2001. The Italian has worked with the teams Parma, Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, which he left in the fall of 2017. The information that Zenit did not look closely at Ancelotti was confirmed to Channel Five by former midfielder and TV commentator Alexei Strepetov.

Video: Channel Five

“He was offered the Italian national team, he said that he was a club coach. Of course, Ancelotti is great. He won everything. I think Carlo Ancelotti will stay in Europe. We do not need a famous coach, but an ambitious one. Hungry for victories, like football players. If he is like that, his team will play and win. This is proved by Jurgen Klopp, a Liverpool manager who worked in Germany. He proves his worth, young and strong coach, he is already in the Champions League final. A coach who is starting to work, who has already won victories, but who has few trophies. Hungry for trophies. He will be pleased to win for Russia, enter the Champions League, win there to show his name in Europe. It's my opinion".

Star Maurizio Sarri

On May 13, the deputy sports director of the club, Vyacheslav Malafeev, announced the short list of contenders for the post of Zenit coach. There are only two names included. Current coaches: Ufa coach Sergei Semak and Italian Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri. However, the day before, Sarri's representative Alessandro Pellegrini conveyed his words to Sport Express, saying that no proposals had been received from Zenit. The representative noted that the coach has a valid contract with Napoli and nothing foreshadows his departure from his post.

Football expert Alexander Kanishchev considers Sarri the best candidate for the post of Zenit coach.

Video: Channel Five

“Of all the candidates listed, I would choose Maurizio Sarri. Man heads now one of the most serious Italian clubs. The current coach with a very good handwriting, with the psychology of a winner. I would vote for him. Everyone else… Dick Advocaat is no longer a current coach. Already old enough. Ancelotti will be too expensive for Zenit. Top coach. He probably won't. As for Mihailovic, from my point of view, this is not a candidate that would suit Zenit. He is also a person who has not worked for a long time. As for the coaches working in our championships ... Miodrag Bozovic is the coach of the middle part standings, but not the top clubs in our premium league. With all due respect, he's not on that level. Semak - as an experiment, it is also possible. But I think he needs to be allowed to level up. And only then to lead a club like Zenit. This club demands first of all results. I don't know if Semak is ready today. Perhaps Sarri is the most acceptable candidate.

His own Sergey Semak

Only Semak - the rest do not understand the Russian mentality, Boris Rappoport believes. At the same time, Semak has the potential to lead the team to victory. In second place, who the ex-coach sees in the place of the team leader is Dick Advocaat, who is not a stranger to the St. Petersburg team, who has only one minus - a respectable age.

Semak, according to the former head of Zenit, while working with Ufa, showed himself to be a very strong tactician who knows how to organize a team, and therefore he should be entrusted with leading the blue-white-blue.

Video: Channel Five

“I am a supporter of inviting Russians. Of these, only one Semak could lead the "Zenith". I have doubts. A few years ago, Zenit made a bet on foreign specialists. Although, frankly, nothing serious has been achieved. We haven't been in the Champions League for the last three years. Which is generally nonsense, having such a budget, such infrastructures and everything else. This mess. I would trust Semak. Many say that Semak will not cope. And who will guarantee that one of the foreign specialists with big names will cope? I would trust Semak."

"Age", but proven Lawyer

Dutch football coach is an honorary citizen of St. Petersburg, as well as an honored coach of Russia. For the first time he headed Zenit in the summer of 2006. And in 2010 - the Russian team. Dick Advocaat left after Euro 2012 when we were beaten 0-1 by the Greeks. As a result, Russia took third place in the group and left the tournament. On May 12, the press secretary of the Zenit football club, Anton Makarenko, said that Advocate's candidacy for the post of head coach was not being considered.

However, the ex-coach of Zenit believes that Advocaat was abandoned early. He "like a real man" perfectly rallied the team. He did what Mancini failed to do.

"V last years I am convinced that the foreigners did not work out. If we talk about those who they want from foreign coaches, Advocaat - the best choice. Despite the age. Everyone here knows him, he knows everyone. And there is only one munus - he is quite an old man. Although recently Lucescu was here, who is two years older than him. The lawyer is not a stranger to the city. He had excellent results here. I would be in their place, if Semak is an impassable candidate, I would invite a lawyer. There is a certain problem that new players are bought for each new coach. It is necessary for Zenit to analyze all this. There was Villas-Boas, there were only players, Villas-Boas left - they began to be removed. Lucescu came - he recruited an incomprehensible group of people. During this time, there are practically no players. Due to the fact that each coach is given the task to achieve results as quickly as possible. Why do I have a plus in the direction of the Lawyer? Each of the people who come here - they do not know Russia. Our mentality is generally foggy for them. They start with congratulations, end with a funeral. The lawyer is closer to us, to our people. He is Dutch. This guy is normal. If Semak is not satisfied for some reason, although I think he can handle it, then of all the others it would be Lawyer ", - Boris Rappoport said in an interview with Channel Five.

Miodrag Bozovic POV

The Montenegrin specialist, who currently heads the Tula Arsenal, flatly denied his possible participation in the fight for the post of head coach of Zenit the day before.

“I don't want to say anything on this subject. Rumors are rumors, but if you believe me, no one has spoken to me. Someone might like to mention my last name. But it didn’t happen that someone called me, and I talked to someone ”, — quotes his publication "Sport-Express" .

Who else?

However, the offer may come at the most last moment any of the applicants. Aleksey Strepetov believes that the list of mass media should not be limited. He also completely excludes the possibility that Bozovic will still be invited to the post of coach.

Video: Channel Five

“Bozhevich, with all due respect to him, is not a high-profile coach. No offense will be said. There may even appear a coach who is not on the list of five. We know that Wenger was out of a job. I do not rule out that it is he who will head Zenith, and I will be pleasantly surprised by this. If he comes to our city, it would be very, very interesting to see his work in St. Petersburg Zenit. There is Advocate, there is Spalletti. We know these people very well. A sincere person with an open soul is a Lawyer. And, of course, Luciano Spalletti, who, while working at Zenit, gave us two brilliant seasons. To Luciano Spalletti, as a brilliant specialist, there are no questions at all. Big choice from the board of directors, from the president of the club, Alexei Borisovich Miller. And now they must not make a mistake. All candidates are deserving. The club management must choose a direction. Either we are an elite team with stars, or we are a promising team that will also fight, but solve other problems. That is, give overclocking to the same Sergey Semak, do not ask for full program. He needs a season or two. It is difficult to say whether the leaders of the club will go for it. What we have now is that we have a very interesting team. Why it didn’t work out is a question for the coaching staff. Zenith simply failed the second part of the Championship.

Today Sergei Semak arrived at a meeting of the board of directors of Zenit. So, perhaps, the answer to the question that is now tormenting all the fans of the St. Petersburg team will appear in a few hours. However, we should expect an unexpected filing from the leadership.

Aniya Bataeva

Mancini was disgraced.

The Italian coach burst into St. Petersburg with a dashing goal from Daler Kuzyaev and super football from Sebastian Driussi. The stands were inspired by: new president brought a champion manager who reveals the Russian youth and chooses the right foreign players. Around - a chic stadium. Ahead is a warm-up victory in the Premier League before the comeback to the Champions League. On the way we will grab another European Cup. Finally, everything will be fine. Yeah.

Mancini interrupted the stinking aftertaste from Lucescu's attack. The driven Argentine striker turned into a second-rate Argentinean diaspora, and it is difficult to imagine such an unsystematic use of Kuzyaev’s talent even under substances. The turn was finally finished off by the castling of Dziuba to Zabolotny. The latter also added fuel to the trolls - a debut goal in a useless () match against a comatose SKA. If anything, even Erokhin put poker there.

But the reaction of the club to the disaster is extremely adequate. Fursenko warned the hostilities by early dismissal of Roberto, and chooses a new coach together with the people. Zenit announced the shortlist of candidates through the millionth fan at Krestovsky - it's beautiful. And then, who from this list should be entrusted with the command. It's farsighted.

Sergey Semak

pros. Sergey Bogdanovich is a self-evident choice. "Zenith" does not need trophies and high-profile transfers: first you need to wipe the dirt from your own emblem. Once the most sincere team in the league turned into a money bag. Own pupils and just Russian guys are knocking out the team with scandals, and mercenaries take their place. Fans have forgotten when a footballer made his way to the base straight from the academy. The club formed a strange connection with politics. The only bright spot is Tymoshchuk's hairstyle on the bench. If Semak appears next to her, a good image can be restored.

There is no doubt about his humanity and orientation. Sergei will find a common language even with the cormorants at Krestovsky. He will not harm or merge ahead of time, like Lucescu with Mancini. He will not put the Russian guy under dubious legionnaires and will definitely fit in for the team in front of the judges. Zenit knew that the fans would choose Semak and made the right move, appointing him, as it were, with the hands of the fans. With him, it will not be shameful to root for the Petersburgers again. Now this is the most important thing.

Minuses. But, probably, it will be necessary to drown for Semakov's "Zenith" through defeats. The result of the young coach in Ufa is extremely worthy in terms of price-quality ratio. But managing a roster with spoiled stars on a win-it-all mission is another matter. This requires either hypertalent (like Zidane) or experience. Semak has neither one nor the other. But then again - are victories really that important?

Appointment Probability: almost certainly

pros. Zenit fails so much with foreign coaches that taking on a new foreigner = unleashing a cold war with the fans. But Sarri is almost the only coach in the world whose authority will make Petersburgers forget about passports and citizenship for at least half a year. His schemes at Napoli are openly admired by Guardiola and Mourinho, and the name can attract really cool players to Krestovsky. For example, Mertens or Jorginho.

Minuses. Maurizio is insanely expensive. He boldly hinted at his desire to leave Naples, automatically lining up a line of superclubs for his labor. Chelsea is trying more actively than the rest - in order to recapture the Italian from Abramovich, you need to lay out a really dangerous amount of money. In the event of poor results (no one is insured), it will be impossible to explain the numbers in Sarri's contract. Then the cold war will become nuclear.

Appointment Probability: first candidate after Semak

Jorge Sampaoli

pros. In the 2016/17 season, Sampaoli and Conte brought the three-back scheme back to life. The Argentinean's Sevilla rolled into the Champions League, and the coach's own shares skyrocketed. Jorge was immediately recruited by the Argentina national team. For sure last championship peace for Lionel Messi is a serious matter. The quality of Sampaoli is also proved by the fact that the Andalusians crawled down after his departure. This year, the peak of Sevilla is the defeat of Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Minuses. The talent of the Argentinean is undeniable. But there is no fundamental difference in the class between Sampaoli, Spalletti and even Mancini. The choice of Jorge is another attempt to get trophies in the shortest way, and not to build a long-term project through thorns to the stars. If Fursenko again falls for the red carpet strategy, then Sampaoli may not leave Russia after the World Cup.

Appointment Probability: very unlikely

Paulo Fonseca and Marcelo Gallardo

Minuses. These characters have no clear advantages. What could be dumber than poaching the Shakhtar coach almost immediately after Lucescu? To call a no-name from River Plate for a crowd of faded and unloved Argentines. It is pointless to paint further. Let's just hope that these guys are not really on the shortlist of St. Petersburg. And their names in the voting - another self-irony of "Zenith". The blue-white-blues have complete order with her.

Appointment Probability: tends to zero

Zenit head coach Sergei Semak, after a closed meeting with fans at the Petrovsky stadium, spoke about the past event, upcoming work, but did not specify the future of the players and name the new coaching staff.

- How was the meeting with the fans?
- Initially, the meeting was planned in Specific Park, but then everything changed. The guys asked me to drive up for five minutes, I said that there were no problems. There is time now. Nice attention from the fans. I am well aware that I am at the very beginning of the journey. It is difficult to say anything, except that now there will be a lot of work. This is a step forward in my career.

- What was the conversation about?
- General phrases about the team. About what the fans would like to see.

- Easily agreed to the offer of "Zenith"?
- It's not easy, especially in such a situation. Any decision is difficult. However, if you take on some business, you need to try to do it to the maximum. The appointment went quickly, with elements of surprise.

Who will be on the coaching staff?
- It's too early to talk about it. There was a lot of information, but most of it was not true. In the near future we will resolve issues with the team, with fees.

- Alexander Nizelik, who worked with you in Ufa, can he enter your headquarters in Zenit?
- Naturally, he is among the possible candidates.

- And Kerzhakov?
- No, I didn’t talk to Sasha about this. I do not have such information.

- For the first time you came to the talks about two weeks ago. What happened during those 14 days?
- I don't know what happened these days. We had a conversation. The leadership of Zenit announced the position that I am one of the candidates. Then there was another meeting, but it did not carry any specifics. Last night the conversation went in a different direction.

- Many players will return to Zenit, including Dziuba and Shatov. Do you have any idea about their future?
- You'll find out very soon. I have all the information about the players: who and where is located. Zenit had a lot of players on loan. Very soon you will find out who will go to the training camp, who will not.

When will you have your first workout?
- As planned. June 15 medical examination, on the 17th - departure for the first training camp.

- There was a lot of talk that Igor Denisov would return to Zenit.
- I can't say anything about the players. There was little time. There is a lot to work on and a lot to weigh. Igor Denisov is a top player, one of the strongest in his position. Any coach likes his game.

- What goals were set by management in terms of results? Champions League and first place or building a new team?
- Now we have a lot of players on contracts, we need to deal with this, and only then talk about a new team. As for the tasks - they will be announced by the management closer to the season. Of course, Zenit must fight for the championship and play in the Champions League.

- Was there a conversation about the sports department? Will Vyacheslav Malafeev, Oreste Cinquini stay? Will there be a new sports director?
- There was talk about everything, but you need time to analyze everything before making decisions.

- We understand that you won’t say anything about the players, but there is one player who…
- Messi?

- No, Miguel Danny said that he was ready to devote a few more years to Zenit, that he would be happy to return. Are you considering him?
- We consider all players who can help our team.

Had one of the most disastrous seasons in recent history. For the first time in ten years, the team was left without medals in the Russian Football Championship, where it finished only in fifth place. It was worse only in 2005, when blue-white-blue remained sixth.

A year ago, the club's management from the banks of the Neva spent millions on transfers and an invitation to the eminent Italian as head coach. The bet didn't work. Mister failed to prove himself in Russian club and went to pull the national team of his country out of the swamp.

Tired of spending that does not live up to expectations, Zenit decided to invite a Russian specialist to the post of mentor of the team. The club was headed by Sergei. Except for emergency measures in the form of a three-month coming to the post in 2009, who then worked with a double, then

at Zenit as a full-fledged mentor Russian coach will be the first time since 2002.

The agreement with 42-year-old Semak is designed for two years with the possibility of extension for another one. The young specialist noted that it was an honor and pleasure for him to work with the eminent club.

“Of course, it was a great honor for me to even be among the candidates for this position, and to receive an invitation is a very honorable and pleasant thing.

At the same time, I understand how difficult and difficult it will be, there is a lot of work ahead, you need to immediately take up your duties and slowly put the issues that are now in order, ”Semak said.

The specialist spent the previous year and a half at Ufa, which became the first club where he worked as a head coach. Under his leadership, the team from the capital of Bashkiria reached the Europa League for the first time in its history, finishing sixth in the RFPL season that ended. The team got a ticket to the European tournament after the owner of the Russian Cup "Tosno" could not pass the licensing in.

“Today I am very happy. I would like to thank Ufa, which gave me a chance to get a concrete experience.

Well, my family and I are happy to return to the city, which managed to become our home, ”said Semak.

Semak's career is developing almost perfectly.

As a player, he made his debut very early and became one of the few athletes who managed to score a goal in the elite division. Russian football up to 18 years old.

After a season at Asmaral, Semak spent 11 years at CSKA, becoming a real red and blue legend of the club. Having scored the famous hat-trick against PSG in the Champions League match, the football player received an invitation to the Parisian team, where he could not fully express himself, as a rule, remaining in the reserve. Then there were two seasons in FC Moscow, and three in each and Zenit.

With teams from St. Petersburg and Kazan, as well as with the Moscow army team, Semak became the champion of Russia.

Currently, he is the only one who managed to win the Premier League with three different clubs.

Semak's performances for the Russian national team deserve special attention.

It was Sergey who was the captain of the team that won bronze medals European championship - 2008.

At that tournament, Semak performed the most difficult goal pass through himself, after which he scored the only goal against the Greek national team, and the meeting ended with the team's victory with a score of 1: 0.

On account of the athlete and one of the most important goals in the history of "Zenith". In 2012, in the first match of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League against the Portuguese side Befniki, he put his team ahead with a heel strike. True, in the sum of two meetings, the blue-white-blue still lost (3:2, 0:2).

After completing his playing career, Semak worked in the coaching staff of Zenit in 2013-2016. Once he was even the acting head coach of the St. Petersburg team, under his leadership Zenit played two matches - in the national championship they lost to CSKA (0: 1), and then in second leg 1/8 finals of the Champions League away defeated the German "Borussia" from Dortmund (2:1), which was not enough to reach the quarterfinals (the first match the St. Petersburg lost with a score of 2:4).

Semak also has experience of working with the Russian national team, of which he was a member of the headquarters in 2014-2016. First, the specialist was an assistant, and then - Leonid Slutsky.

"Zenith" will be the first serious challenge of a specialist. The last two coaches of the blue-white-blues - Mancini and the Romanians did not stay in office longer than a year. It remains only to wait and see how the first Russian specialist in many years will do in the “execution” position.

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